Background

• Main Authors: P. Ricchiazzi, C. Gautier
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: South Pole; north slope; South pole; Alaska
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.298.1541; http://www.arm.gov/publications/proceedings/conf14/extended_abs/ricchiazzi-p.pdf

Some recent studies of clear-sky radiation indicate that current radiative transfer (RT) models tend to underestimate atmospheric absorption when the aerosol optical depth is small and standard aerosol properties are assumed. This so-called clear-sky anomaly is manifested in predicted levels of diffuse radiation significantly above those observed at Southern Great Plains (SGP) and other sites in the continental U.S. (e.g., Halthore et al. 1998 GRL). In general, observations made at pristine sites do not show a discrepancy (Barnard and Powell 2001: [North Slope Alaska] 2001; Kato et al. 1999: [Mauna Loa]), Halthore 1998 [South Pole]). However, the anomaly did appear in observations obtained at